Digital Matte Painter (DMP) Artist - Blender (Short contract)

OUR STORY

For more than 35 years, Bardel Entertainment has been growing and evolving, yet at our core, we remain grounded in the creative roots of the craft of animation.  Our pursuit of fresh ideas, techniques, and technologies is driven by the belief that together, through creativity and collaboration, we can accomplish anything!  If you want to be part of an environment that empowers you to experiment, learn, and contribute to exciting projects, come and join us.

As the Matte Painting Artist, you will be responsible for overseeing and executing the creation of stunning digital matte paintings that seamlessly blend with computer-generated environments. Your creative vision and technical expertise will be vital in shaping the visual direction of our project. You will work closely with the CG Supervisor, Art Director, and the Matte Painting Lead to ensure the highest quality and artistic integrity of our work. This role requires both a keen artistic eye for environment creation and the technical skills to implement matte paintings using projections, geometry, and lighting in Blender.

What You’ll Be Doing: 

Matte Painting & Environment Creation

• Create high-quality digital matte paintings and environment extensions that support the visual storytelling of the project. 
• Paint skies, landscapes, architecture, and set extensions with strong attention to lighting, perspective, scale, and atmospheric depth. 
• Produce visually compelling environments that align with the project’s art direction.

Blender Implementation

• Translate matte paintings into Blender-based setups, including projections, cards, geometry, and camera mapping. 
• Build 2.5D and 3D matte painting environments that integrate seamlessly into shots. 
• Work with lighting and rendering in Blender to ensure painted elements blend naturally with CG assets.

Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with Layout, Lighting, and Compositing teams to ensure environment work integrates smoothly into the pipeline. 
• Participate in reviews and incorporate feedback from Supervisors and Art Direction.
• Communicate clearly with production regarding progress and shot needs.

What You Bring:

Artistic Skills

• Strong digital painting skills, particularly for environments and matte painting. 
• Excellent understanding of composition, perspective, lighting, colour, and atmosphere. 
• A strong artistic eye for appealing and believable environments. 

Technical Skills

• Solid experience working in Blender, including camera projection, environment builds, and rendering. 
• Experience combining 2D matte painting with 3D elements. 
• Ability to troubleshoot technical issues when implementing DMP setups in a 3D environment.

Nice to Have

• Experience working in animation or VFX pipelines. 
• Familiarity with environment modeling, layout, or lighting. 
• Experience with ShotGrid or similar production tracking tools. 

Portfolio Requirements

Applicants should include a portfolio demonstrating:

• Digital matte paintings or environment artwork showing strong painting fundamentals. 
• Examples of Blender-based projections, environment builds, or camera mapping. 
• Work that combines artistic painting with technical implementation in 3D. 

Location: Candidates based in BC will be prioritized.

Start: ASAP

Pay Range: CAD $1500 - $2,100 per week   

This salary range provided reflects our current expectations for these roles as of this posting’s date. Your final salary offer will consider various key factors, including your education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographical location, as well as the needs and requirements of the business. 

Flexible work environment, Extended Health and Wellness from day 1, RRSP matching are just some of the benefits. For more details, check out our website. 

If this seems like a good fit, what are you waiting for, get your application in!